The Gaza “health ministry” reported 40 new cases of coronavirus within population concentrations on Thursday.
The total number of cases in Gaza stands at 117, including 80 in population concentrations and 37 in isolation centers, Kan 11 News reported.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s Hamas authorities extended a lockdown imposed on all Gaza Strip districts for an additional 72 hours to combat coronavirus.
Undersecretary of the interior ministry, Tawfiq Abu N'iem, told a news briefing in Gaza City that the decision to extend the lockdown was made "because the Gaza Strip is facing a critical stage in light of coronavirus' outbreak."
Hamas announced on Monday that it recorded the first four COVID-19 cases in the coastal enclave's populated areas and imposed a 48-hour lockdown on the region.
The first cases of COVID-19 in Gaza were reported in late March. Before that, local authorities declared a new set of precautionary measures amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in the coastal enclave.
Hamas had previously closed schools, mosques and wedding halls and banned large street gatherings to halt the spread of the virus, but did not impose a lockdown on Gaza’s two million residents, saying one was not necessary.
Gaza recorded its first death from COVID-19 in late May. The death was a 77-year-old woman from the district of Khan Yunis who had returned from Egypt the previous week.